WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish prosecutors said Wednesday they formally accused a Russian-Spanish man of espionage, days after Poland freed him from prison so he could be included in a prisoner swap between Russia and the West.
The national prosecutor’s office also said investigations are taking place into an unspecified number of suspected co-conspirators, including a woman they identified only as Magdalena Ch. The woman, known among journalists in Poland to be his ex-girlfriend, refused to comment.
Pavel Rubtsov, better known as Pablo González. was arrested on Feb. 28, 2022, days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in Przemysl, a Polish town near Ukraine’s border. He had presented himself as a Spanish freelance journalist and was filing reports to Spanish media.
He was held in detention in Poland until he was included in the prisoner exchange on Aug. 1.
The national prosecutor’s office said a prosecutor in the city of Lublin filed the indictment on Aug. 9 to the District Court in Przemysl. They identified the indicted man as Pablo G. Y. and Pavel R., withholding last names according to Polish privacy laws. However, the details make it clear the case refers to the suspected GRU agent Rubtsov.
The defendant is accused of committing an offense related to espionage, which can bring a prison term of three to 15 years.
It was not immediately clear if Rubtsov will be tried in absentia.
The statement said the defendant is accused of providing information to Russian military intelligence from April 2016 to February 2022 in Przemysl, Warsaw and elsewhere, “which could cause damage to the Republic of Poland, including as a NATO member state.”
It also said the activity also included “spreading disinformation and conducting operational reconnaissance.”